All the more reason to drink up this weekend, no?
Two brand new studies from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (thanks Europe!) suggest that moderately drinking all types of alcohol may lower some people’s risk of heart disease.
Key word? Moderately. Trying to stomach an entire bottle of Jack Daniels will not do your heart any favors.
Perhaps you might be thinking, “Well, it still has to be much healthier to abstain from drinking entirely!” and I am here to tell you that you are very wrong. The most interesting finding from the research was that the hearts of moderate drinkers fared significantly better than those who abstained completely.
I’ll wait for you to recover from your shock.
Of the 60,665 participants whose drinking habits were tracked in the late 1990s, the 1,588 people who succumbed to heart failure tended to be either alcoholics or complete abstainers.
Imre Janszky, the second author of the two studies, explained how alcohol helps the heart in a press release. He said that it is likely because alcohol increases good cholesterol. However, he acknowledged the fine line of drinking just enough to reap these health benefits and the risk of raising your blood pressure by taking these studies too far.
The study disclosed that the maximum amount of drinks to get the health benefits from alcohol is five drinks a week. Anything more increased the risks of heart disease and death amongst the study participants. The study revealed that three to five alcohol beverages a week was the sweet spot. The men and women who drank between that range saw a 33 percent drop in the risk of heart failure.
In short? Drink up this weekend – but moderately.
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